CALGARY, AB, November 2, 2011: Matt McClure, writing for Postmedia News, reveals that in 2010, the Conservative government considered allowing private medical insurance and user fees. Taking a different stance, Stephen Duckett, formerly CEO of Alberta Health Services, thinks the health system needs to change for Medicare to be sustainable.

"The former head of the province's health authority says eliminating inefficiency — not privatizing care — is the way to stop Alberta's health system from bankrupting taxpayers.

While public attention is focused on allegations of emergency ward overcrowding and physician intimidation, Stephen Duckett says Albertans should be asking politicians why the government is spending more on health care than other provinces, but residents are living shorter lives than other Canadians.

'The health system in Alberta needs a shakeup,' said Duckett, 'and I'm not entirely sure the public in Alberta has the appetite for a shakeup '"